Kell Antoft stood tall in the world of sports. As a youngster, Kell Antoft consistently found himself the last person picked in athletic playground pursuits. Seven decades later, Antoft, a native of Denmark but a resident of Canada since 1930, stands as a giant in the world of sports.

“I wasn’t all that big until I had my growth spurt in my late teens,” said Antoff, a newly inducted honoured member of the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. “But one of my problems in high school was that I had been going to a country school before going to high school and I was well ahead of age in school.” Humble beginnings aside, Antoft, has carved out a distinguished career as a builder in sport.

“I’m really deeply honoured to be elected into the Hall of Fame,” said Antoft, who was born in Roskilde, Denmark on July 24, 1923. “Also, I think it’s an opportunity to focus attention on skiing which hasn’t been prominently recognized with the exception of Freda Wales. I think she’s the only other person associated with skiing. Likewise, my association with the hostel movement is something I’m particularly proud of.”

Co-founder and the first national chairman of the Nancy Greene Ski League in 1968, a low-keyed competitive movement for children under 13, Antoft was also co-founder, Nova Scotia Section, Canadian Youth Hostels Association in 1968. Antoft was on the National Board of the Canadian Ski Association (CSA) from 1969-79, he was president of the Atlantic Division of the CSA from 1975-79 and he was president of the Nova Scotia Ski Areas Association in 1975.

“My role in co-founding the Nancy Greene Ski League and my role in getting the seniors out of their rocking chairs onto the ski hills are probably the two things I’m most proud of,” said Antoft, who now lives in Fancy Lake, just outside of Bridgewater. “In 1990, we started a senior ski club with 24 members and it has grown to over 400 members.”

Recipient of the 1981 Skier of the Year Award for the Atlantic Division of the Canadian Ski Instructor’s Alliance, Antoft went to sea at the tender age of 15 and before turning 20, was a navigator with a Royal Air Force night fighter interceptor squadron. Later, he flew the Atlantic, ferrying planes for Transport Command.

At 23, Antoft was president of Viking Air Service Company, supplying parts and equipment to aviation firms in North America and Europe. In 1951, he switched to pharmaceuticals, becoming president of Nordic Biochemicals. Fourteen years later, he finished his bachelor’s degree at Dalhousie and his master’s in political science in 1977, while working as assistant director of the institute, as a colleague of the late Guy Henson. He went on to become Director of the Institute of Public Affairs at Dalhousie, during which time he was also the volunteer manager of the school’s ski team.

As a former member of the Board of Directors, Nova Scotia Division, Canadian Cancer Society (1969- 91) and Chairman, Nova Scotia Public Issues Committee (1985-92), Antoft’s involvement in community affairs has been well-documented.

In 1990, he received a honorary life membership from the Canadian Cancer Society, and the following year received a similar award from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. He’s also a life member of the Canadian Hostelling Association (1976) and in 1979, received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Maritime Municipal Training and Development Board (Council of Maritime Premiers), “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the educational upgrading of men and women for local government public service careers.”

He managed and promoted university alpine skiing from 1970 to 1982 and was also manager of the Dalhousie University Ski Team during that time. In 1982, he was honored with the Dalhousie Sport Development Award for “contribution to development sport at Dalhousie,” and in 1993, received a recognition award as a 25-year member of the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance for his years as an active teacher for all who wanted to learn.

Not a man to rest on his laurels, the 77-year-old Antoft remains as active today as he was as a teenager growing up in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. “I probably ski a couple of times a week,” said Antoft. “I’ve also retained my membership in the Canadian Ski Instructor’s Alliance, and I still teach skiing to anyone who needs lessons.”

Kell passed away on January 8th, 2005.

Bio Courtesy of Steve Bezanson